Very short nutshell version of a thorough and credible report, the headings of their conclusions, but again, read the meat of it, the details are important, and google “FCIC report” to get the spin the capitalists offer:

• We conclude this financial crisis was avoidable.

• We conclude widespread failures in financial regulation and supervision proved devastating to the stability of the nation’s financial markets.

• We conclude dramatic failures of corporate governance and risk management at many systemically important financial institutions were a key cause of this crisis.

• We conclude a combination of excessive borrowing, risky investments, and lack of transparency put the financial system on a collision course with crisis.

• We conclude the government was ill prepared for the crisis, and its inconsistent response added to the uncertainty and panic in the financial markets.

• We conclude there was a systemic breakdown in accountability and ethics.

• We conclude collapsing mortgage-lending standards and the mortgage securitization pipeline lit and spread the flame of contagion and crisis.

• We conclude over-the-counter derivatives contributed significantly to this crisis.

• We conclude the failures of credit rating agencies were essential cogs in the wheel of financial destruction.

January 27th, 2011

Above, equipotential plane for treating manifestations of stray voltage — it does NOT eliminate stray voltage! See 2006 MREC Equipotential Planes for explanation.

Yesterday, the Minnesota Supreme Court released a landmark stray voltage opinion, clarifying the breadth of the “filed rate” and “primary jurisdiction” doctrines declaring that they do not limit suits for stray voltage damages against utilities. This has been a six year lawsuit for the Siewerts so far…

January 25th, 2011

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse… and after yesterday’s Executive Order 11-04, oh my, that was pretty awful, then Dayton makes the choice of Bill Grant, Izaak Walton League, as Deputy Commissioner of Energy.

Bill Grant headed the Midwest Izaak Walton League, the “environmental” organization that through the years has given the utilities everything they want, and has received foundation grants (it is his last name after all) to promote the most reprehensible things…particularly transmission, transmission, transmission. They intervened in the CapX 2020 Certificate of Need (PUC Docket 06-1115) in favor of the project, what more need be said?

So did Dayton make this appointment with knowledge of, or not knowing: